JANE BRADLEY

A recruitment agency for high-growth start-ups and small businesses has launched in Edinburgh.

Talented, which is the first spin-out to come from recruitment specialist Edgar Stewart’s new business incubator and start-up hub in the city’s Stockbridge district, aims to plug the gap in finding staff for entrepreneurial businesses in the food and drink, life science, engineering, technology and software sectors.

Edgar Stewart, a technical recruitment specialist, has launched a £120,000 funding round to give a boost to early-stage businesses.

Director Craig Jackson said: “Talented is a much-needed solution to a much-talked-about recruitment problem. There’s been a lot of noise about businesses struggling to compete in today’s candidate-led market but no one really came up with any solutions.

“Talented is different in a number of ways. It thinks differently, operates differently and is trying to change people’s perceptions about what recruitment is all about.”

He added: “Recruitment often gets a bad reputation and, in many cases, it’s justifiable. But, with Talented, we’re trying to turn that on its head.”

Edgar Stewart is inviting applications from other recruitment start-ups that would benefit from funding and support.